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This summary of recent news and research articles on mental health topics was prepared as a public service by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. Stories from other media sources do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the foundation and its staff. Media sites may require a one-time free registration and academic and science journal sites may require a paid subscription to access articles.

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Highlights from Alternatives 2011 - Transition Age Youth Initiative

Hogg Blog

November 2, 2011

I recently had the opportunity to attend the 25th annual Alternatives Conference in Orlando, Florida. One of the most exciting presentations came from a group of young people out of Alameda County in California's Bay Area. The Transition Age Youth Initiative is a partner to Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services and Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services and is composed of young people who have experience in the county's mental health system, juvenile justice system and foster care system. The initiative provides training and access to services, as well as outreach and public education designed to support the recovery of young people and eradicate the stigma of mental illness.

GALVESTON - The failure of the University of Texas Medical Branch to reach a contract agreement for prison medical services led University of Texas regents Monday to approve extending the contract by 30 days to give negotiations another chance. ... UTMB provides medical care for about 80 percent of the 156,000 prisoners in the Texas system.

...America has the highest incarceration rate in the world and 30 percent of those in custody suffer from a mental illness. Dr. David Eagleman advocates for increasing dialogue between neuroscience and legal fields to distinguish between explanation and exculpation.

STAFFORD, Texas - Hostage negotiators were able to coax a disgruntled father, who had locked himself in a bathroom with his two young children Tuesday morning, to hand over the kids and surrender, Stafford police said. ... Police said Cole suffers from bipolar disorder, so they handled the matter sensitively and took extra precautions.

PHOENIX - More Arizona children died from abuse or neglect in 2010 than in the previous year, including five with open state cases, a children's advocacy group said. The total number of child deaths from all causes declined over that same period. ... State and local budget cuts since 2009 have reduced or eliminated child-abuse prevention, drug treatment, child care and mental-health services.

... Bithos was among several hundred mental health advocates, elected officials, health care administrators and residents who weighed in during a hearing on the state's Department of Human Services plans to close the facility. Opponents of the closing said they fear that without an alternative plan, people who need mental health services will end up on the street or in the correctional system.

... Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist who is the president and founder of Give an Hour, a nonprofit that provides free mental health care to troops, veterans and their families, said veterans overwhelmed by the wounds of war tended "to get caught up" in themselves. Jennifer Crane, 28, was a Navy veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who became addicted to drugs and was homeless after leaving the Navy in 2003. Through Give an Hour, she started getting free therapy and improved so much that she e-mailed Ms. Van Dahlen to ask how she could help. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/giving/for-some-injured-veterans-community-service-is-a-way-to-heal.html

In the Company of Animals, Healing for Humans

New York Times

November 1, 2011

... The Gentle Barn, a six-acre ranch in Santa Clarita, Calif., heals and rehabilitates abused farm animals and invites visitors with emotional and physical challenges to interact with them. Bonding with Sophie was "a life-changing experience," says Miss Mejia-Schnaufer, whose battle with depression and eating disorders led to a suicide attempt this year. She credits Sophie, a rescue from an abusive petting zoo, with making her recovery possible.

... In a complex debate citing the mere handful of similar cases in federal court archives, Assistant U.S. Atty. Christina M. Cabanillas told a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that prison doctors, not judges and lawyers, were in the best position to decide what medications are needed to make Loughner fit for trial.

Deficit Panel Is Warned That It Must Not Fail and Is Urged to Compromise

New York Times

November 1, 2011

WASHINGTON - ... Mr. Bowles, who was chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, said Tuesday that Congress should run an experiment testing the feasibility of converting Medicaid to a lump-sum block grant in 10 states. The program is now an open-ended entitlement, with the federal government generally paying a share of whatever states spend on services for low-income people.

Report: Universal health care system in Vermont could cost as much as $9.5B a year by 2020

Washington Post

November 1, 2011

MONTPELIER, Vt. - New projections by the state of Vermont say a public, universal health care system would cost between $8.2 billion and $9.5 billion a year - roughly $13,000 to $14,000 per resident - by 2020, but that sticking with the current system based on private insurers would cost even more.

Back on the brink: Doctors again face steep Medicare cuts unless Congress acts before Jan. 1

Washington Post

November 1, 2011

WASHINGTON - It's become a regular exercise in budget brinksmanship. Medicare is again warning that doctors face draconian pay cuts on Jan. 1 unless Congress acts. Officials said Tuesday it works out to a 27.4 percent cut.

... Even before Obama and the U.S. Congress agreed in August to cut military spending by $450 billion over the next decade as part of a debt reduction deal, officials were warning that spiraling healthcare costs were becoming a problem. Care for another generation of warriors, those wounded, many grievously, in Iraq and Afghanistan, is expected to raise the burden further.

...In the summer of 2007, my life changed drastically when I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at the age of 20. ...I am now on my journey to recovery with the support of family, treatment team, peers and my faith. I share my recovery story as often as I can because I want to help reduce stigma, change perceptions, and encourage an open conversation about mental illness. My hope is that that the public will have a better understanding of schizophrenia, be supportive of people living with it, be open to discuss one's need for treatment, and help them seek treatment.

Baylor's Wave III religion survey, which came out in late September, takes a look at the connection between religion and mental health. ... The authors concluded that "Those respondents who believe that they have a strong, loving relationship with God report fewer mental health issues, while those respondents who report more ambiguity in their relationship with God report more mental health issues."

While urgent mental health needs remain unmet in the Veterans Administration care system, the truth is that a vast majority of veterans seek mental or physical health care outside the system: more than 75 percent nationally.

A Statement from U.S Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

U.S Department of Health and Human Services

November 1, 2011

America's physicians are the backbone of our health care system. Physicians are there for us throughout our lives, helping us improve our health and fight off disease. Unfortunately, while Medicare remains strong, physicians are facing steep payment cuts as a result of a flawed 1997 law.

Illicit drug use severity linked to outcomes in schizophrenia patients

MedWire News

November 2, 2011

Schizophrenia patients who are moderate or severe users of illicit substances have significantly poorer outcomes than those who are either mild users or abstainers in terms of psychosis symptoms, depression, and quality of life (QoL), research shows.

Webinar: Serving Our Veterans' Behavioral Health Needs in the Community

National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare

Increasingly, veterans and their families are seeking behavioral health and primary care services in their communities. Unfortunately, few civilians understand the military orientation - a culture of its own - and are thus unable to provide culturally competent and clinically sound services. Discover the unique challenges of serving veterans and what works and what doesn't in meeting their needs. Learn how you can understand military culture and better serve our returning service members through the new online Serving Our Veterans Behavioral Health certificate program offered by the National Council, Center for Deployment Psychology, and Essential Learning. November 10, 2011, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. eastern time.